The preconditions for this trip were anything but promising. Since our last relief transport in June the security situation in Iraq had continued to deteriorate and acts of violence against foreigners and Iraqis who are working for foreigners have been increasing on a daily basis. In addition the route on which our relief supplies had always been transported, i.e. via Amman and then by truck to Basra, remained unavailable to us, because the battle for the town of Falluja led to the closure of the road. No Jordanian forwarder accepted a shipment. On the other hand we were under pressure to get our relief supplies to Basra, because the supply of medications, which we had brought in June, had run out. The water treatment plant too, which we had shipped in October, remained in storage in Kuwait and was awaiting shipment to Basra. The Austrian technicians, who were to install the equipment in Basra, had cancelled their participation for plausible reasons. For foreigners Iraq is, at this time, the most dangerous country in the world. We first had to look for Iraqi technicians who would undertake the installation and the cost had to be negotiated. All this delayed our trip enormously. It was finally decided: We would travel with our relief supplies (8.3 tons of medications and medical supplies) to Basra via Kuwait, in spite of all the warnings we had received. When all seemed settled, with the shipment at the Vienna airport, and our flights reserved, the weekly air transport from Amman to Kuwait was cancelled, causing more delay. But then on November 30 the time had finally come: Our relief supplies traveled via Vienna – Maastricht – Amman – Kuwait to Basra. A day before we were given a contact in Kuwait, which would turn out to provide the solution for all our problems, since we had no experience about the route through Kuwait. Dr. Faisal, the owner of “Faisal Alkazemi Group of Companies” not only took care of shipping the supplies by truck to Basra – he did all this without asking for payment. He provided an escort for the truck. Thirteen men in 3 armored cars, all armed, were to assure the safe passage of our relief supplies to Basra. The security team alone costs $10,000 per day, but for us it was free of charge.

The trip by car from Kuwait to Basra takes only about two and a half hours. One has to change cars though, because Kuwaiti cars are not allowed to drive in Iraq, and one has to cross the border on foot. There are innumerable checkpoints on the road in Iraq, frequently within sight of one another. Some are manned by masked men and the road has become clearly safer. Finally we got to Basra: The contrast could not be greater. With images of the rich and luxurious Kuwait still in our memory we are now looking at Basra’s slums. There everything is clean and well groomed, here everything is neglected. It rained last night and since the storm sewers are not functioning there is water everywhere in the streets. Garbage floats in the huge puddles. This contrast demonstrates  what has gone wrong in this country during the last few decades. “A new Iraq, a new life, a new Basra” it says at the edge of town on an inordinately large billboard. So far only empty words!

There is little change also in “our” Mother-Child Hospital, except for the fact that it is becoming more and more dilapidated. An oddity strikes me right away: There are several plastic plants in the hallways; a few have been distributed in the departments. We will later learn from the Director that the Ministry of Health has sent them to “beautify” the hospital. Medications, however, the Ministry has not provided and the medication supply situation is worse than ever. The whole Basra region for instance has received only as many infusions as a single hospital in Baghdad. Is that not the same as it was before the war?

“Our” children’s cancer ward is in very good shape and Prof. Jenan, the Director, proudly presented the statistics to us, showing the decline in deaths in this department, since we have been supplying them regularly with the needed medications. The mortality has declined from 100% to 30%. The number of new cases of children with cancer and leukemia, however, continues to rise. It is almost incredible that this department has not received a single medication from the Ministry of Health. As before, the life of the little patients depends on our support; and the department is overcrowded. This responsibility does not rest lightly on our shoulders!

People assure us that the security situation in Basra is clearly better than in Baghdad. Nevertheless we hear that just today a physician was shot dead in the street and that a bomb exploded not far from the hospital, injuring several policemen. During the night one hears shots in the street and the clatter of British military helicopters. During the day one hardly ever sees the British occupiers, only once during these days do we see two military vehicles in the street. The city’s power supply is miserable. The generators roar almost continuously. It is no longer an ordinary noise, but an infernal one. What do people do, who don’t have a generator? At the Bishop’s house too, where we are staying, they turn off the generator during the night. It is cold in Basra, only 45 F and there is no heat. I am writing my travel log at night by candlelight, wrapped in my sleeping bag.

What do people expect from the January elections? Nothing, say most of them and they wouldn’t vote anyway, because they are afraid. Things would get worse, say others, because now Basra’s administration is in the hands of a single party, but this would change and the fighting would start all over again. Could nothing improve in Iraq? Well, one could hope, but one doesn’t really believe it, because now everything is steadily and daily going downhill. Resignation paralyzes the people more than ever; they have given up. Life outside their house is hardly of interest to them; grappling with the daily routine consumes all their energy. Nothing works anymore and the apathy and indifference feeds this vicious circle. Those people who are committed to their profession get increasingly depressed. The daring ones among the men join the police, but also the idealists. For $400 a month they risk their lives every minute. Thirty policemen protect the 300-bed children’s hospital. Still, there was a bomb in front of the entrance to the cancer ward a short while ago.

The Christians live in great fear; men with submachine guns stand in front of the church. Only two days ago another church was destroyed in Mosul. There, it is said, acid is thrown in the faces of women, who don’t wear a headscarf. Even if the situation here in Basra is – still – better, bribes and threats of murder are common occurrences. Unemployment continues to rise and those who had found employment with British, or American firms have quit their jobs again after they were threatened with assassination and after several of them were actually murdered. Ing. Bashar Hindo and I were not allowed to leave the house by ourselves. We were taken by car from door to door, either by the Bishop himself, or by one of the priests. All this time I was dressed like an Iraqi woman, wearing the “hijab”, of course, the headscarf. Basra is totally isolated these days, the telephone connection with Baghdad, or even with the neighboring Nasiriya is not working and even within the city it is nearly impossible to telephone.

In the face of all these difficulties we must be thankful that our project has once again been so successful. The truck, filled to the brim with 30 pallets, arrived in Basra on time, all the relief supplies were in excellent condition, all the equipment was working and the cooling chain for the medications had not been interrupted. Bashar was able to repair the apparatus for blood count analysis, which we had brought in June and which had been put out of commission by an operator’s error. The entire staff of the laboratory was exceedingly grateful for this – and probably learned from their mistake. The drinking water treatment plant (donated by Caritas Austria and co-financed from our donations fund) had already arrived 10 days earlier and the Iraqi technicians had installed it. Two days later it was ready to be put in operation. All the drinking water for the hospital and  the utility water for the department of surgery as well will be treated by this installation, putting an end to the dying of children, who caught serious infections from the bad water in the hospital. The success of our efforts, however, must not obscure the actual situation in Iraq, which is worse than ever. The “New Iraq” will remain a wishful dream for a long time and until living conditions in this land improve its people will need our help. We can give the sick children of Basra “a new life” – with your help!